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09/18/07
Federal Bureau of Investigation Told to Apologize to the Family of Coretta Scott King
08/08/07
Rep. Fattah Celebrates CORE Philly Day ‘07 with New Trust Fund, $300,000 Donation
08/02/07
College Readiness Program GEAR UP Advances with Bipartisan Support
08/01/07
Rep. Fattah Applauds UN Peacekeepers, Congressional Action as Hope for Darfur
07/27/07
Philadelphia Lawmaker Supports Passage of Farm Bill
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here for Congressman's Positions on Welfare
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
The
conference agreement on the spending budget reconciliation bill (S.
1932) includes a scaled-back version of welfare reauthorization
legislation. The agreement would extend the basic Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) block grant at current funding levels through
FY2010; increase the share of TANF families required to participate in
work activities; increase child care funding from current levels by $200
million per year ($1 billion over five years, FY2006-FY2010); provide
federal cost-sharing for child support passed through to TANF and former
TANF families; provide up to $100 million per year in demonstration
grants for the promotion of “healthy marriages”; and establish $50
million per year for “responsible fatherhood” initiatives.
Child
Poverty
Although child poverty reduction is not one of TANF's stated purposes,
Congress was concerned about the potential harm that may come to
children as a result of loss of the federal entitlement to cash
assistance that existed under AFDC, and the ways states might respond to
the new law. Congress added to the law several requirements to monitor
child poverty and related indicators. Bills have been introduced in
Congress to include anti-poverty provisions to the law, in the form of
bonuses to states that reduce child poverty, and including poverty
reduction as an explicit goal of TANF. In addition, a number of groups
are monitoring the effects the new law might have on child poverty and
child well being.
Child Care
The welfare reform law provides an increase in federal child care
funding for low-income families, with the expectation that newly
implemented work requirements for welfare recipients (many being single
mothers) would create a greater demand for child care services. This
additional funding was accompanied by the creation of a unified and
expanded Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, with
the aim of serving low-income families, regardless of welfare status.
The Food
Stamp Program
The Food Stamp program provides low-income households inflation-indexed
monthly allotments - now averaging about $180 a household - to help them
buy (coupled with some of their own cash) a minimally adequate diet.
Eligibility and benefit rules are, to a large degree, federally set and
uniform nationally, and the federal government pays the full cost of
benefits and about half the cost of related administration and
work/training efforts. States pick up the remainder of expenses, are
responsible for day-to-day administration, and have a say over a number
of significant aspects of the program (reinforced by changes made in
this year's farm bill). Food stamp eligibility depends primarily on a
household's monthly income and liquid assets, but some work,
citizenship, and other restrictions also apply. There is a substantial
overlap between TANF and food stamps - 37% of food stamp participants
have income from TANF, and 81% of TANF families get food stamps - and
the number of households receiving both food stamps and Medicaid exceeds
the number either program has in common with TANF.
Unlike TANF
block grants, food stamps are a federal "entitlement" to low-income
individuals and households. Federal money is guaranteed as needed to
fund benefits and other expenses, and costs reflect the number of
eligible applicants and their income. As a result, spending changes with
enrollment and the size of benefits, which, in turn, are affected by the
economy, eligibility rules, and administrative policies governing the
ease with which people can apply and retain their benefits.
Minimum Wage
HR.
2429, introduced May 18, 2005, Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938 to increase the federal minimum wage to: (1) $5.85 an hour,
beginning on the 60th day after enactment of this Act; (2) $6.55 an
hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and (3) $7.25 an hour,
beginning 24 months after that 60th day. It sets forth a transition
period during which a specified minimum wage there shall be gradually
increased to equal the federal minimum wage.
Additional
Resources:
Department
of Defense
Senate
Armed Services Committee
House
Committee on Armed Services
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